Category Archives: Reviews

David Hayes reviews Antoine Vanner’s Britannia’s Shark on his excellent Historic Naval Fiction blog: Britannia’s Shark by Antoine Vanner continues the adventures of Commander Nicholas Dawlish, serving in the Royal Navy as the Victorian Era draws to a close. The series so … Continue reading →

Congratulations to Joan Druett! Her crime thriller, The Beckoning Ice, the fifth of her Wiki Coffin series of maritime mysteries, is one of the longlisted titles for the 2014 Ngaio Marsh Award. We reviewed The Beckoning Ice in December 2012. … Continue reading →

In The Torrid Zone, Alaric Bond’s latest novel in his Fighting Sail Series, HMS Scylla is due to return to England. Her crew is weary and the ship is in serious need of a refit. Yet, as soon as the ship reaches … Continue reading →

There was a very nice post this morning on the Working Harbor Committee blog about my novel “Hell Around the Horn.” My thanks to the editor, Mai Armstrong. Have you read Rick Spilman’s novel Hell Around The Horn? It’s a thriller … Continue reading →

Last June, we reviewed Joan Druett’s Judas Island, the first book her Promise of Gold Series. Here is an excerpt from a recent review by Cindy Vallar from her wonderful Pirates and Privateers blog. Captain Jahaziel “Jake” Dexter believes a pirate’s … Continue reading →

When I started this blog, I had intended it to be, at least in part, a book blog of works about ships and the sea. Of late, however, I have been completely negligent in posting reviews. I will attempt to … Continue reading →

A new review from Historic Naval Fiction: Alaric Bond‘s new novel, Turn A Blind Eye, moves away from his ‘Fighting Sail’ series and the Royal Navy to the world of smuggling on the South Coast of England. It follows Commander Griffin … Continue reading →

V.E. Ulett’s novel, Captain Blackwell’s Prize begins in battle. As the British board a larger Spanish ship, they discover that the boy wielding a sword next to the Spanish captain is indeed a woman. The novel develops into an unexpected … Continue reading →

Alaric Bond, in his latest novel, Turn A Blind Eye, vividly captures the complex and often contradictory world of a seaside village caught between loyalty, prosperity, treachery and murder. It is 1801, on the coast of Sussex. England is at war … Continue reading →

Joan Druett’s The Elephant Voyage is a fascinating historical account of sailors who find themselves castaway on a desolate, wind-swept sub-Antarctic island, while on an ill-fated voyage to hunt elephant seals in the late 19th century. Their rescue and at least partial redemption also … Continue reading →

Joan Druett’s Judas Island, the first book of her Promise of Gold trilogy, is a delightful mix of nautical adventure, romance and droll comedy. In the novel, Harriet Gray, an eighteen year old British actress, finds herself abandoned on the deck … Continue reading →

A wonderful review of ‘Hell Around the Horn‘ in the Navy Fiction blog. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel by Rick Spilman – actually his debut novel! Spilman knows ships and the sea. He has worked as a naval architect and … Continue reading →

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Joan Druett’s The Beckoning Ice, the fifth in her series of Wiki Coffin nautical mysteries, begins in 1839, on the sealer Betsey of Stonington, homeward bound from “a short but very profitable season far south of Cape Horn.” The schooner is … Continue reading →

The Tainted Prize is Margaret Muir’s second book of the Oliver Quintrell series. After sending Captain Quintrell to the bottom of the world in pursuit of Floating Gold, the admiralty is confident in the good captain’s discretion. It is 1803. The Peace … Continue reading →

The eight day port strike on the West Coast is over, thank goodness. On November 27th, a group of 450 clerks in the port of Los Angeles/Long Beach, who had worked without a contract for over two years, walked out. … Continue reading →

It is highly gratifying to have my work reviewed favorably by an author that I admire. Alaric Bond, author of the Fighting Sail Series, is indeed such an author. (See our review of his latest, The Patriot’s Fate, here.) Bond recently reviewed … Continue reading →

Alaric Bond’s The Patriot’s Fate, the fifth in his Fighting Sail series, is an exciting nautical adventure that is also a rich and fascinating voyage through the history, politics and complex divided loyalties of Britain at the end of the … Continue reading →

Linda Collison’s recently released “Barbados Bound,” begins provocatively, “I came aboard with the prostitutes the night before the ship set sail.” The year is 1760 and not yet 17 year old Patricia Kelley is, quite literally, seeking to find her … Continue reading →

Many of the classics of nautical literature are stories of young men who set off to sea, often compelled, in equal parts, by necessity and a longing for adventure. Joan Druett’s “A Love of Adventure” is just such a tale, … Continue reading →